A PHOTOGRAPHER’S VENUE GUIDE
LOMBARDINI
GAME FARM
Lombardini is a four-star game farm and wedding estate in the Seekoei River Valley minutes from Jeffreys Bay, with two venues hosting weddings of roughly 100 and 200 guests.
WEDDING VENUES • JEFFREYS BAY • WEDDING VENUE • UPDATED 2026
01
WHY COUPLES CHOOSE IT
Why couples choose Lombardini
Lombardini does fairy-tale glam with a wild heart. The receptions run to chandeliers, mirrors and fairy lights; the grounds run to game drives and rhino. Suné & Muller’s wedding here gave me frames I’ll never repeat anywhere else, a couple in full wedding dress, metres from a rhino, in golden light.
With nine rooms in the main house plus cottages, a spa on site and its own kitchens and bar, the estate holds the whole celebration inside its gates.
01 / LOCATION
Seekoei Valley, Jeffreys Bay
02 / BEST FOR
Two venues, 80-220 (Venue Dependant)
03 / CEREMONY
Chapel/ amphitheater or gardens
04 / WET WEATHER
Covered reception venues
05 / STAY
9 rooms + cottages
06 / FOOD
In-house kitchens & bar
07 / FROM J-BAY
±10 minutes
08 / STYLE
Game-farm fairy-tale glam
THROUGH SHARYN’S LENS
Photographing a wedding at Lombardini
The rhino session is the headline, carefully managed by the farm, completely unforgettable in a gallery, and I plan it for the soft hours when both light and animals are calm. Beyond that, the valley gives open-country portraits, the chapel gives clean ceremony light, and the chandelier interiors turn evening coverage warm and glittering.
It’s a venue of contrasts: wild by day, sparkling by night. The gallery should honour both.
PLANNING AROUND THE LIGHT
A timeline shaped around your date.
Sunrise and sunset shift throughout the year, so there is no single perfect ceremony time at Lombardini. I build each timeline around the sunset time on your actual date, the ceremony space, the weather and valley light by day and chandelier warmth by night.
MAR TO SEP
March – September
The sun sits lower and golden light arrives earlier in the afternoon. Low winter light suits the rhino session mid-afternoon and the chapel glows early, ceremonies sit earlier with the sparkle indoors after.
OCT TO FEB
October – February
Days run long and the light stays strong late. Summer pushes the wildlife session and portraits later, a later chapel start keeps guests cool and lands the valley in gold.
YOUR DATE
Your personal timeline
Once your date is confirmed, I work backwards from sunset and create a photography timeline around your ceremony, portraits and reception, with enough flexibility for weather and the unplanned moments that make the day yours.
THE RHYTHM
The shape of the day
Getting ready → Ceremony → Family photographs → Golden-hour portraits → Dinner & dancing
FLEXIBILITY
Exact times stay personal
Exact times are created for your date, never copied from a generic schedule.
ONE VENUE, MANY STORIES
Real weddings at Lombardini.
Photographed by me at Lombardini, the full story below.
SUNÉ & MULLER
“
The rhino session is the headline, carefully managed by the farm, completely unforgettable in a gallery, and I plan it for the soft hours when both light and animals are calm.
SHARYN HODGES / PHOTOGRAPHER’S VENUE NOTES
THE PRACTICAL BITS
Plan the day, keep the feeling.
Facts to reconfirm with the venue before you book, capacities and packages change.
BEST FOR
Two venues, ±100 and ±200
CEREMONY
Chapel/amphitheatre or gardens
WET WEATHER
Covered reception venues
FOOD
In-house kitchens & bar
NEED TO KNOW
Before you book.
A photographer’s answers to the questions couples ask most often about Lombardini Game Farm. Venue details and packages can change, so confirm the final information directly.
Two wedding venues take roughly 80-220 guests respectively, with event spaces up to 230.
Yes, the farm runs a rhino sanctuary and offers carefully managed up-close encounters; it’s the most extraordinary couple-session backdrop I’ve photographed.
Nine en-suite rooms in the main house plus self-catering cottages hold the core party; J-Bay is ten minutes away for the rest.
It’s just over the provincial line near Jeffreys Bay, about 90 minutes from Plett, and worth it for the wildlife.
ALREADY IMAGINING IT?
Getting married at Lombardini?
I’ve photographed the chandeliers-and-rhino day at Lombardini, if your wedding includes a rhino, you want a photographer who’s done it before.
